


Sickness

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Thor & Loki: Brotherhood [17]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Comics/Movie Crossover, Gen, Illnesses, Kid Loki, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Romance, No Smut, Protective Thor, The Avengers are good friends, Thor Is Not Stupid, Thor Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 13:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5871403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Thor and Kid Loki move into the Avengers Tower, Loki gets sick. Thor might overreact a little. The others try to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sickness

After bringing his little brother back from the dead, Thor knew Loki was his responsibility. His friends might be willing to give the boy another chance but Odin would not. So, Thor brought his little brother to live with him on Midgard.

He was pleasantly surprised that Tony and the Avengers didn't mind them both staying in the tower. 

“We've already got one reformed semi-amnesiac kid here.” Tony gestured to Steve's long lost brother-in-arms, who was quietly watching the exchange from the Captain's side. “What's another?”

So Thor and Loki lived in the tower and the Thunderer had thought all would be well. Until one day, Loki did not wake at his usual time. When Thor decided to fetch him for breakfast, he found the child curled into a ball under his blankets, shivering. At first Thor thought it was nightmares again, but he soon realized there was something else wrong. Loki was ill.

“He is of Asgard,” Thor declared after he announced his brother's plight to his comrades. They seemed to think Loki suffered from something called 'the common cold' that had been exacerbated because he'd never been on Midgard in this body before and had no immunity to their germs. “We are not meant to be susceptible to your Midgardian germs or sickness.”

“Isn't he at least half something else?”

“Tony, you're not helping.” 

Thor felt terrible. He had no skill or training with magic and yet he had brought Loki back. What if it was his failure that caused his little brother to have such a weakness? He had to save him. 

Thor returned to his comrades after checking on Loki again. “He is getting colder by the minute.”

“Normally he'd have a high fever,” commented Dr Banner. “His Yo- Jutun- His, uh, Frost Giant blood is probably causing his temperature to drop rather than rise. You should try to keep him warm.”

Steve's friend, Bucky, hesitantly entered the conversation. “I remember how to make my ma's lentil soup. Used to help Steve when he was sick...”

“It really did,” Steve remarked enthusiastically. The way he smiled at his friend suggested he was more pleased by the fact that Bucky remembered than the soup itself. “Good thinking, Buck. Why don't we get started on that?”

Thor thanked his friends as they left to see what ingredients they needed. He had already draped the blankets from his own bed atop of Loki's as well as his cape. “Perhaps I should get him another blanket.”

“JARVIS, arrange for an electric blanket to get here ASAP.” Tony turned to Thor when he frowned at the comment. “Its a blanket that heats up to add warmth. Since the kid isn't producing any heat on his own at this point, I figure it'll help.”

“You could try using your body heat to warm him.” Colonel Rhodes suggested. “Its what we do if someone gets hypothermia and we can't get them to a hospital in time.”

“We'll knock when the soup and blanket arrive,” Dr Banner offered kindly. 

Thor thanked his friends again and crept into Loki's room as quietly as he was able, just in case the boy was asleep. A small lump under the covers was the only visible sign of the boy. Thor slipped a hand under the pile of blankets and fished for his little brother's head. It was nearly freezing to the touch. 

He decided to try the Colonel's advice and removed his boots before getting under the blankets. Loki murmured something unintelligible and shifted along with Thor's movements until he was curled up beside him. 

“Mm, you're warm, brother.” Loki murmured before shifting again until he was draped partially over Thor's stomach. He wrapped an arm around his waist and clung on as if Thor were a giant teddy bear.

Thor smiled and brushed the hair off Loki's face. The boy responded by pressing his face into Thor's side and groaning pitifully. Thor tucked the blankets around them and settled in for some time.

The electric blanket and the soup came in later that day. Thor made sure Loki ate some, then he he figured out how to use the blanket. Every so often one of the others would stop by to ask how Loki was doing and see if there was anything Thor needed. Steve and Bucky brought in more soup for every meal and Bucky gave Thor a small jar of salve that he instructed him to rub on Loki's chest. Tony bought him a space heater and a smart TV with a Netflix widget installed.

As the other Avengers heard about the boy's illness, they would stop by too, with suggestions to help. Clint said that in the circus, they used to have him take a bite out of an onion when he was getting sick. Pepper brought them some tea that she always drank when she was ill. Maria brought by a bottle of something called Nyquil. Natasha gave him some wool socks, claiming that one could never feel warm if their feet were cold. 

Thor insisted they try each remedy, anything to make Loki well again. Even as miserable as he was, Loki didn't argue. He followed Thor's instructions with only minimal questioning. Even then, it was only to learn, not to question his brother's motives or judgement. Thor had almost forgotten how well his little brother had trusted him when they were children.

Loki had little appetite, but he was able to keep some soup down, which was more than could be said about the onion. The tea soothed his throat after coughing and the salve eased his breathing after Thor rubbed it over his chest. The electric blanket and wool socks kept him warm, as did Thor whenever possible. The Nyquil settled his aching body and allowed him to sleep. 

Thor kept the room as warm as he could stand and hardly ever left his brother's side. He watched documentaries on Netflix to learn more about Midgard and often commented aloud to Loki even if the boy was asleep or simply too ill to focus. He called Dr Banner or Bucky (whom Thor learned was well versed in caring for an ill loved one) whenever there was any change in Loki's condition. He dreaded the thought of doing something wrong and worsening his brother's condition or even just slowing his convalescence.

Loki seemed comforted by Thor's presence, if nothing else. Thor suspected Loki would be amused by his bumbling caregiving once he was well enough to concentrate. He also suspected that once Loki was well again, Thor would think fondly of the reminder of how close he and his brother had once been and were once again. For now, he only wanted his little brother to be well again. 

Days passed and Loki's health improved, slowly but surely. His temperature began to rise and he grew more alert. He ate more readily and started asking Thor questions about the documentaries they watched. 

When Loki was finally healed, he asked Thor about all the remedies he'd tried. Afterwards, he thanked his brother for caring for him with a tight hug. Then, he wrote thank you notes to each of Thor's friends for helping him. They appeared touched and Thor was brimming with pride. 

Then, Tony suggested burning the blankets they had used while he was sick and Pepper assured him that washing them would be adequate. 

“Its not like we can't afford to replace them. Why take the chance?” Tony turned to Steve and Bucky. “Didn't they used to burn the sickbed back in your day?”

“Sometimes,” Bucky answered. “But we didn't have washing machines and antibiotic soap.”

“Besides, he had a cold,” Steve added. “Not scarlet fever.”

“When has a cold ever done that to you?”

“He isn't human, Tony;” Bruce cut in. 

“Exactly! What if he gets reinfected? Do _you_ want to put the kid through that again?”

“He's fine, Tony.” Steve wore a small smile as he assured his friend. “I know you were worried, but-”

“As if you and your little buddy weren't asking a thousand questions about modern medicine while making ten gallons of soup. I'm just saying we might as well spare ourselves the agitation and burn the blankets. Then we'll fumigate the room and-”

“Tony-”

As the others continued to argue over whether Tony's idea was too extreme or not, Thor smiled. His brother was well and he had wonderful friends. As far as he was concerned, life was perfect.


End file.
